Why Monkeys Don't Swim
by Mrs. Knightley
Summary: In the manga, it was not when Sanzo freed Goku that he lost the manacles, but some time after that. Unfortunately, Goku didn't realize his shackles made him too heavy to swim.


**Disclaimer: **I own nothing here!

It was just past noon when they came to a small pool, made at a wide bend in the river. Next to it stood a giant sakura tree in full bloom, its large branches hanging out over the water. There were blossoms falling lazily down in the occasional gentle breeze.

"Can we stop and eat yet, Sanzo?" came the young boy's voice, for the fifteenth time since they had stopped for an 'early lunch.'

_Thwack!_ came the sound of the paper fan colliding with the boy's head, again.

"Ow! What was that for?" he said, turning to look at the priest.

"Is that all you do is eat? How do you fit so much in that bottomless pit of a stomach of yours, anyway?" said the priest as he put the paper fan back in his sleeve. "At this rate we won't get there until tomorrow!"

"But, Sanzo, I am starving!" complained the child, his voice starting to whine.

Without a word, the older man sat down in the shade, with his back against the large tree and pulled out his pack of cigarettes. Lighting one, his gaze fell on the river. In the distance, it moved along slowly, gentle currents moving over smooth rocks. He had always liked to watch the water move. Constantly changing. Even in the cove in front of him, the sakura blossoms gently swirled and swayed in the clear liquid.

He took half a glance at his small tag-along. The boy had plopped down next to him and was happily munching on a peach. On the ground next to him lay a small, almost empty pack, which had been full of food when they set out that morning. The only sound was the quiet clink of the chains hanging from manacles on his wrists and feet as he moved.

That sound had really annoyed Sanzo at first, but in the two weeks since he had officially introduced the boy at the temple, the clinking and the child had been his constant companions, and he was getting used to it.

Overall, the monkey was adapting well to his new home, although feeding him was a constant chore. Sanzo also couldn't get him to sleep in his own room yet. No matter how many times he had put, sent or even threw the boy in his own room, without fail when the priest woke next, the child would be lying on his small futon on the floor in Sanzo's room. He had given up on the pursuit for now, the boy was persistent, but the blonde already knew that.

"How much further is it?" asked the golden-eyed youth, starting on his second peach.

"You didn't have to come, you know," replied the monk, taking another drag on his cigarette.

"I know," replied the kid, " but I don't like being left at the temple, everyone there is grumpy. I like going on errands with you."

"Yeah, I know," sighed the priest, "I could have been there and back by now if we didn't keep stopping to put food in that black hole you call a stomach."

The child grinned up at him, peach juice on his cheeks. "Where are we going again?" he asked, taking another bite.

"Your brain is as empty as your stomach! For the last time, we are going to retrieve some sacred scrolls from the Chengdu Temple," replied the priest, his tone clearly irritated.

The boy either didn't notice or didn't care. He just looked at the blond with that stupid grin, before standing up, tossing the pit from his peach to the ground, and climbing the tree. "Now what are you doing?! You really are a monkey, aren't you?" asked the monk.

Again, either the boy did not hear him or he did not care.

"Look at the flowers, aren't they pretty?" came the excited child's voice from above the priest.

"Tch," snorted the blond, reaching for a second cigarette.

Not that he would ever admit it to anyone, but it was a beautiful day and he really was in no hurry. The Chengdu Temple was not much further and they had all day. It was nice to just sit and look at the water flowing by and the cherry blossoms in the air. It was so peaceful…

"Hey, Sanzo!"

…well, almost.

"I found a bird's nest!" came the saru's voice from higher up and slightly to the left.

"What are you doing? Get down here! We need to go," snapped the monk.

"Okay, okay, I'm coming," replied the child.

Sanzo took one last drag from his cigarette before crushing it out.

_CRACK_!

"Aaaahhhh!"

_SPLASH!_

A branch the monkey had been climbing on gave way and he, along with the now-broken limb, crashed into the water.

"That monkey is more trouble than he's worth," the priest sighed, rolling his eyes as he got to his feet. "It's always something."

He walked to the water's edge expecting to see that stupid grin on the face of his charge, now playing in the river. There was nothing to be seen, however, except some ripples from the spot the boy had hit the water.

_Now what's he up to?_ the monk wondered, still watching the ripples. _Come on, you little brat, the water is not even that deep._

Then suddenly he heard, no…felt, a panicked plea for help.

_You have got to be kidding me,_ thought the blond as he quickly peeled off his robes and waded into the water. Surely the boy should be floundering around, at least trying to swim. There was nothing. When he was about chest deep, he dropped under the water, opening his eyes and looking for the saru. Luckily, the water was fairly clear, thanks to the constant movement of the river. It didn't take long before he spotted the small child in a deeper part of the pool, at the very bottom. He was struggling to swim, flailing his arms and legs in a desperate attempt to tread water, but he would only rise a few feet before sinking back to the mud. The clear liquid refused to support his weight.

In two swift movements, the monk was by the boy. He grabbed his small arm and pulled, but was surprised when he found he couldn't move the child. Sinking to his knees for a better look, he saw that something seemed to be weighing his young charge down, his small feet sinking deeper into the mud each time he landed on the bottom again. The boy looked at Sanzo, panicked golden eyes stared pleadingly at the priest.

_What is making him sink like that?_ _I know his clothing doesn't weigh that much. Could it be the manacles_? he wondered. _How much could those possibly weigh?_ The child's erratic efforts to swim began to slow. I need to get him out of here. _If I can't lift him, then I will drag him,_ thought the monk, his own panic rising, just a little.

Reaching under the boy's arms, he clasped his hands firmly around the small child's chest. Come on, Goku, he thought as he began to pull with all his strength towards the closest edge of the water.

To his immense relief, the boy moved, the manacles dragging along slowly in the mud. The small child was struggling weakly, trying to use his feet to move himself along, but was careful not to move his upper body and dislodge the priest's hold on him.

_At least he is not the kind to really panic_, thought the monk, _or this would be impossible_.

Luckily, the edge of the water was not far. If he could just get him there... Every foot they moved seemed to take forever. Gradually the boy's struggles grew less and less. Sanzo's lungs also began to burn for want of air.

_I have to get us out of here,_ he thought. _Goku has been under the water even longer then I have._

Finally, with a stupendous effort, he heaved the small, surprisingly heavy body onto the grass at the water's edge. Looking down at the limp, tiny form there was an instant of real panic before the child started coughing and gagging, trying to rid his lungs of the river water.

Sighing with relief, the priest loosened his grip on the child's chest and rolled onto his back. As he did so, a small hand caught his wrist tightly. Lifting his head, the priest's gaze met wide golden eyes under soggy bangs, the fear and panic in them still vivid but starting to fade as he got much needed oxygen back into his system.

"S-Sanzo," he stammered, still coughing and gasping for air.

"You're fine," replied the priest, his tone indifferent. "You really are a pain," he said as he lowered his head back to the ground, taking a few deep breaths himself.

The boy's grasp on him loosened, but he didn't let go of the monk's wrist.

They lay there, sopping wet, side by side for a while. Sanzo watched the blossoms floating in the air as he waited for his pulse to return to normal. _That was close_, he thought. _Why would those manacles be so heavy? And how in the world does he even walk around with them on, let alone climb and get into everything?_

At length he stood up. "If you are done playing around, we need to get to the Chengdu Temple sometime today," he stated, looking down at the wet child.

The boy rose, somewhat unsteadily, to his feet. He walked to the tree to retrieve his pack.

Sanzo moved to where he had discarded his robes, picking them up and brushing them off. Deciding to check just how shook up the child was, the priest asked, "So, monkeys don't swim, huh?"

The youth turned to look at him, an already half-eaten peach in one hand and the beginnings of a smile playing around his eyes.

"It's these stupid cuff things. They are hard and they hurt, but I can move around just fine. In the water, though, it was like I had something big pulling me down."

"Why do you wear them?" asked the priest, looking at the bulky black steel on such tiny limbs.

"They have always just been there since before I can remember, " replied the brunette, looking down at the manacles, too.

"Come here, Goku, and sit down."

Putting the last of the peach in his mouth and tossing the pit, the saru did as he was told, sitting in the grass by Sanzo's feet.

The priest pulled out his gun and, kneeling down, he arranged the small wrist so he could get a clear shot at where the cuffs clasped together.

He pointed his gun at the manacle, noting that the boy didn't flinch or even look worried.

_Trusting little monkey_, thought the violet-eyed man as he squeezed the trigger.

**_BANG_!** _Clink_. The manacle fell open and Goku lifted his arm, rubbing his wrist that had been encased by the steel for so long. The opened manacle on the grass disintegrated into nothing. Several quick bullets later, the monkey was free from the cold iron that he had carried for over five hundred years.

"Thank you, Sanzo!" he said, looking up at the blonde.

"I just don't want to have to drag you out of any more ponds, you stupid chimp," replied the monk in an irritated voice, but there was the slightest hint of a smile playing at the corners of his mouth.

Sanzo put on his robes. Though his clothes underneath were still wet, it was a warm day, they would dry. Once more they were again on their way. The priest walked on silently and Goku bounced around looking at everything as usual and enjoying his new, unrestricted freedom.

Inconspicuously, the monk watched the small boy. _Is there no end to his energy?_ he wondered to himself. _Twenty minutes ago he nearly drowned and now he is bouncing around like a firework, as always. That little monkey really is something else._

There were days, especially at first, when the blond had thought, _What did I do to deserve this?_ He had no business or desire to be taking care of a child. The constant energy and always getting into things really drove him up the wall. But even though the monkey could be a real pain sometimes, part of him felt like finding Goku was something he had been waiting to do, for a long, long time.

**The End**


End file.
